


Let's Sleep

by Alitomy



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Booker | Sebastien le Livre & Nile Freeman Friendship, Gen, Nile and Booker Take Naps, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, thats it, thats the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26894125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alitomy/pseuds/Alitomy
Summary: Nile finds out that sleeping next to Booker relieves her of her dreams of Quynh.Que the naps.
Relationships: Booker | Sebastien le Livre & Nile Freeman
Comments: 9
Kudos: 122





	Let's Sleep

Booker was known for his peculiar sleeping habits. Sometimes, Joe would find him half sitting against a wall slouched over, one knee bent up and his hair in front of his eyes.

If the man wasn’t immortal, Joe thinks he would have had the back problems of an eighty-year-old. 

Sometimes, it was Nicky who found Booker sleeping on the couch, his long limbs draped off the edges as he slept soundly and comfortably through the noise of the blaring TV, much to Nicky’s amusement. The Frenchman could sleep through a bomb detonating if he had to. 

_He has._

Andy would always poke him into a more sustainable position whenever she found him sleeping with a twisted back or with his neck too bent. Even at six thousand years old, she was adamant about keeping a reasonable posture, and Booker gave her the shits whenever she found him sleeping oddly.

Naturally, the team told Nile of the Frenchman’s sleeping positions whenever she asked about it, as she had caught him dozing off against a wall, still on his feet. When she confronted Booker about it, he just brushed her off gently.

“Sleep is important for growing bodies,” he winked, drinking some water from the bottle she had handed him. 

“You’re not going to tell me the real reason, are you?” Nile prodded, groaning when the man shook his head.

“No, if only to preserve your innocence.” 

~

Nile awoke with a gasp, the feeling of water crushing her lungs escaping her as she opened her eyes. Panting, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, silently making her way out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen. Grabbing herself a glass of water, Nile turned around and jumped when she saw Booker on the couch, the TV flashing the room with the movie that was playing on mute. 

She walked over and waved a hand in front of Booker’s face, humming softly when he didn’t respond, the slight rise and fall of his chest indicating that he was sleeping. Sipping her water, Nile grabbed the remote and switched the TV off, shrouding the pair in darkness as Nile sat down and tucked her feet underneath herself. 

She watched the older man for a bit, sipping her water until it was empty. 

_'Totally not weird that I’m watching a grown man sleep,’_ she thought, placing the empty glass on the coffee table before settling back down on the couch. Resting her elbow on the back of the couch and her head in her hand, Nile exhaled heavily in an attempt to calm herself enough to try sleeping again for the night, wondering how Booker slept in such uncomfortable positions and seemingly avoided lying horizontal at all costs. 

She closed her eyes and levelled her breathing. She was a Marine, for crying out loud. She could sleep anywhere too. 

So she slept. 

~

Nile opened her eyes slowly, blinking away the bleariness as she rose to consciousness. She sat up quickly when she realised she was leaning against someone, nearly giving herself whiplash as she did so and blushing slightly when she remembered joining Booker on the couch to sleep. 

“Well, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you detest me by the speed at which you just moved,” Booker grinned and chuckled at Nile’s face, which was still laced with sleep and a little bit of drool on the corner of her mouth. 

“Nonsense,” Nile replied, wiping at her mouth. She was _not_ going to get embarrassed about drooling of all things. “I just forgot I moved out here.” 

Booker hummed and scratched at his beard, stretching his arms above his head as he stretched, satisfied when he heard multiple joints pop, releasing into a comfortable slouch once more. “Why did you decide to join me? You always give me shit for not sleeping in a bed.” 

“Not always!” Nile protested, fixing her hair and draping it over her shoulder. “I just.. dreamt of Quynh last night.” 

“Ah,” Booker nodded slowly, in understanding. “Yeah, that’ll do it.”

Nile thought for a moment and frowned slightly. “I didn’t have any dreams when I fell back asleep out here with you. I usually have multiple dreams each night.” 

“Well, you’re welcome to sleep on the couch with me whenever you like. We can even pull the bed out and cuddle,” Booker teased, patting Nile’s leg before leaning back again, taking a pause before speaking again. “It’s why I don’t sleep in a bed, Nile.”

“The dreams?” 

Booker nodded. “The more comfortable and sober I am, the more dreams I have.” 

Nile looked around the room and saw an empty whiskey glass on the coffee table and wondered how she hadn’t seen it last night. “That explains so much.” 

Booker simply grinned and stood up, straightening his clothes as he did so. “The offer stands, Nile. If you somehow think being in my presence helps relieve you of your dreams, I’ll gladly accept you as my sleeping buddy. Just be warned, I sleep a lot.” 

“Oh I know, Book. I know.” 

~

Booker really did sleep a lot. 

Nile found him outside in the small garden this particular safehouse had, lounging on a lawn chair with his hat covering his face. Nile glanced at the sky and shrugged at the clear blue skies before walking over to the other lawn chair and pushing it closer to Booker’s, plopping herself down once she was happy. 

The sun kissed her skin as she relaxed into the chair, closing her eyes and relishing in the warmth the star provided the earth, her breathing evening out until her consciousness left her. 

~

Nile often sought out Booker whenever she had dreams of Quynh instead of the others. She just felt like he understood better, and he was always more than happy to take a nap with her if she felt like. 

Their current safehouse was located in Russia, and Booker was more anxious than ever. The first few nights Nile slept by his side as the dreams got bad, but then Booker changed his mind about their offer and refused to settle if Nile was around. 

“What’s up with Booker?” Nile asked Andy, who was sharpening her labrys at the kitchen table. The older woman sighed and paused her movements, looking Nile dead in the eye. 

“We’re close by to where he first died. It’s still a sore subject for him,” Andy replied, nodding towards the living room where Booker was watching a silent film. “He often gets nightmares about his time in the Grande Armee as well as Quynh, so that might be why he’s pulled away from you. Don’t worry about it too much, he does it to all of us.” 

“Huh,” Nile pondered for a moment before walking to where the Frenchman was sitting on the couch and stood in front of him, blocking his view of the TV. 

“Uh, Nile, I’m watching something,” Booker spoke, frowning up at her as she held her hands out, hesitantly taking them and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. “What are you doing?” 

“ _We_ are going to take a nap.”

**Author's Note:**

> i would die for these two, platonic or romantic dont @ me
> 
> follow me on tumblr: alit0my


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